Oh I don't want to buy e-books-i want them free!
But seriously, I wouldn't buy a book I knew nothing about, and if I had to spend money on a book it would be a real book.

Em, no offense but what's the use of starting a thread like this if you are going to reject any suggestion you didn't know about before?

I'm not suggesting you buy any book whose name is thrown here, but the whole point of a thread like this is getting suggestions for books you had never heard of before. You can read reviews (I believe a link was provided), comments on Amazon or social sites such as librarything, or read an excerpt before buying (Amazon is usually a good source for this).

There are of course three "definitive" epics which I'd recommend everyone to read: Homer's "Iliad" and "Odyssey", and Virgil's "Aeneid". They are among the cornerstones of Western literature.

Harry I would also add to your list The Mahabharata, The Enuma Elish, The Epic Of Gilgamesh, The Ramayana, and The Fairie Queen. I think these and many others are also essential epic poems that should be read as well.

I can only second Virgil and Homer. Derek Walcott's Omeros is a great modern reworking of the latter. Also really enjoyed the Poetic and Prose Eddas, Norse mythology. Lady Gregory rewrote a lot of the old Celtic myths about Cú Chulainn as well. Others that I haven't gotten around to reading might be Goethe's Faust and Dante's Divine Comedy.

I've had Beowulf on my "stuff to read some day" list for some time. There was a new modern translation published a few years ago. I suppose that could fit in the "epic" category?

The translation you are thinking of is by Seamus Heany. It is probably one of the best translations available right now. Also, if you want a very good translation that can be downloaded for free located right here in the MR forum, check out the one Gunmere one. Here are the links:

The translation you are thinking of is by Seamus Heany. It is probably one of the best translations available right now. Also, if you want a very good translation that can be downloaded for free located right here in the MR forum, check out the one Gunmere one. Here are the links:

You can also find the Gunmere at Manybooks.net and Project Gutenburg as well.

Thank you, yes, that is the one I was thinking of. I already have the Gunmere translation, I think, somewhere on my hard drive, plus another one, both uploaded by Patricia. Haven't read any of them yet though

Thank you, yes, that is the one I was thinking of. I already have the Gunmere translation, I think, somewhere on my hard drive, plus another one, both uploaded by Patricia. Haven't read any of them yet though

I may have to re-visit the epic at some time, I found it hard to 'get into'.